Ross Feller Casey has filed a major medical malpractice lawsuit in Luzerne County alleging Geisinger Health System and its doctors failed for months to properly diagnose a man’s internal hernia, which caused him to lose 40 percent of his body weight and ultimately his life.
The lawsuit filed by founding partner Matt Casey involves Mark Davenport, 54, of Warrior Run, Pa., who went to the emergency room of Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in October 2013 with severe abdominal pain. He received a CT scan that “revealed a constellation of findings that were suspicious for an internal hernia,” the suit said. Still, doctors failed to accurately diagnose the condition and discharged Davenport.
Over the next nine months, despite repeated doctor and hospital visits, physicians still didn’t properly diagnose his condition as he continued to waste away. In all, he lost 80 pounds. In July 2014, doctors performed exploratory surgery and discovered necrosis and perforations of his small bowel caused by an internal hernia. Two days later, he died of septic shock.
Davenport’s condition, the suit said, was “easily diagnosable, treatable and correctable.”
Several Northeastern Pennsylvania newspapers ran stories on the lawsuit.
Read The Wilkes-Barre Citizens’ Voice and The Scranton Times-Tribune article below:
Davenport “should be alive and well today,” and his death was “a textbook example of systemic failures in the healthcare delivery process,” Casey told The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader. “He received very, very poor medical care.”
Read The Times-Leader story below:
The lawsuit was filed by Casey on behalf of Davenport’s wife, Gayle Davenport, and daughter, Tami Cannell.
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